Tommy Widdrington

Thomas Widdrington (born 1 October 1971) is an English former football player and manager who is manager of club Aldershot Town.

As a midfielder, he made 372 appearances in the English Football League in a 15-year career, before spending five years in non-League football.

His career began at Southampton in 1990, where he spent the first six years of his career most of which were in the Premier League.

He signed a professional contract with the First Division club in May 1990.

He enjoyed a short loan spell at Third Division club Wigan Athletic at the start of the 1991–92 season.

Ian Branfoot handed him his "Saints" debut at Everton on 1 March 1992.

A tough, no-nonsense midfield player, he survived some frantic managerial changes to carve out a respectable Premier League career over a four-year period for Southampton.

He did not become a regular player until the 1994–95 season, when he made 28 league appearances without scoring as the "Saints" finished tenth in the league.

He made a further 21 appearances in the 1995–96 season, scoring twice, as the "Saints" narrowly avoided relegation, but still reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

In 1996, he moved to Grimsby Town, helping the "Mariners" to the Football League Trophy and promotion out of the Second Division in 1998.

The next year he moved on to Port Vale for a two-year spell.

He was not far short of making 100 appearances in total when, in July 1996, Grimsby Town came in with a club record offer of £300,000 – as "Saints" had yet another new manager in Graeme Souness.

Widdrington decided to accept their terms and headed to Blundell Park.

Grimsby were a struggling First Division side, and suffered relegation at the end of the 1996–97 campaign, though Widdrington did score a memorable goal past Southend United on the last day of the season.

They enjoyed an immediate return in 1997–98 after winning the play-off final against Northampton Town 1–0.

However, injury meant that he missed out on the Football League Trophy final victory over AFC Bournemouth at Wembley.

Widdrington played his last game for the "Mariners" towards the end of the 1998–99 season, when he was loaned out to Port Vale for the final three months of the season.

At the end of the 1998–99 season Port Vale signed Widdrington (now out of contract, and transfer–listed) on a free transfer.

He was sent off on the final day of the 1998–99 season, and he returned to action in 1999–2000 by getting sent off in the opening minute of a 4–2 defeat at Birmingham City.

Supporters voted him Player of the Year for the 1999–2000 season, as the "Valiants" suffered relegation into the Second Division.

Voted the club's Player of the Year in 2000, he captained the "Valiants" to the League Trophy in 2001.

Manager Brian Horton appointed Widdrington as club-captain for the 2000–01 season.

He played every game of the club's League Trophy run, but played no part in the final.

He made just over 80 appearances at Vale Park, before being released at the end of the 2000–01 season.

Linked with Colchester United, Widdrington instead moved north to join up with Hartlepool United.

Later in the year he was transferred to Hartlepool United, helping the club to win promotion out of League Two in 2002–03, before he moved on to Macclesfield Town.

He was a regular for the club and earned promotion to the Second Division with the club in the 2002–03 season, before he was released upon its conclusion.

In July 2003 he was targeted by Oxford United, but instead Widdrington made his next port of call at Macclesfield Town, managed by former boss Brian Horton.

He settled in quickly and became an indispensable player for the Third Division strugglers, acting as their captain for the 2004–05 season.

In 2005 his career in the Football League ended back at Port Vale.

He then spent 2005 to 2010 at non-League Salisbury City.

As a player, he enjoyed promotion four times with three clubs, and lifted the Football League Trophy twice.

In January 2005, Horton put him on the transfer list, and Widdrington then decided to call it a day at Macclesfield and in a twist, joined former club Port Vale on a non-contract basis.

Widdrington was a midfielder, but could also fill in at full-back.

He was tough and combative.

Player-manager at Salisbury City for the 2009–10 season, he returned to the Football League at Southend United, as assistant manager but left the position in December 2010.

He was appointed Hemel Hempstead Town manager in October 2011, before he was put it charge at Eastbourne Borough in February 2012.

He left Eastbourne Borough in April 2017 and went on to work as head of recruitment at Coventry City and Bristol Rovers, before becoming caretaker manager of the latter in November 2020.

He returned to full-time management at King's Lynn Town in December 2021 and then moved on to take charge of Aldershot Town in April 2023.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Widdrington started his career as a Southampton schoolboy trainee at the age of fifteen, having been scouted by the man who brought Alan Shearer to the club, Jack Hixon.